Page 106 of The Deal

“Yeah? Why?”

“She called to tell me that they might not be able to leave Ransom for Christmas either.”

“Ransom?” I say blankly.

“That’s where I’m from. Ransom, Indiana.” A bitter note creeps into her voice. “Also known as my own personal hellhole.”

My mood instantly goes somber. “Because of…?”

“The rape?” She smiles wryly. “You can say the word, you know. It’s not contagious.”

“I know.” I swallow. “I just don’t like saying it because it makes it feel…real, I guess. And I can’t stomach the thought that it happened to you.”

“But it did,” she says softly. “You can’t pretend otherwise.”

A short silence falls between us.

“So why can’t your parents come to see you?” I ask.

“Money.” She sighs. “Just in case you were cozying up to me because you thought I was some heiress, you should know that I’m at Briar on a full scholarship, and I get financial aid for expenses. My family is broke.”

“Get out.” I point to the door. “Seriously. Get out.”

Hannah sticks out her tongue. “Funny.”

“I don’t care how much money your family has, Wellsy.”

“Says the millionaire.”

My chest stiffens. “I’m not a millionaire—my father is. There’s a difference.”

“I guess.” She shrugs. “But yeah, my parents are buried under mountains of debt. It’s…” She trails off, and I glimpse a flash of pain in her green eyes.

“It’s what?”

“It’s my fault,” she admits.

“I highly doubt that.”

“No, it really is.” Now she sounds sad. “They had to take out a second mortgage to pay for my legal fees. The case against Aaron, the guy who?—”

“Who better be in jail,” I finish, because I honestly can’t hear her say the word rape again. I just can’t. Every time I think about what that bastard did to her, white-hot rage floods my stomach, and my fists tingle with the urge to hit something.

Truth is, I’ve worked my entire life to keep my temper in check. Anger was the one constant emotion I felt growing up, but luckily, I found a healthy outlet for it—hockey, a sport that allows me to pound on opposing players in a safe, regulated environment.

“He didn’t go to jail,” Hannah says quietly.

My gaze whips to hers. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No.” Her eyes take on a faraway light. “When I got home that night…the night it happened…my parents took one look at me and knew something bad had happened. I don’t even remember what I said to them. All I remember is that they called the police and took me to the hospital, and I got a rape kit done, got interviewed, interrogated. I was so embarrassed. I didn’t want to talk to the cops, but my mom told me I had to be brave and tell them everything, so they could stop him from ever doing that to anyone else.”

“Your mom sounds like a very smart woman,” I say hoarsely.

“She is.” Hannah’s voice shakes. “Anyway, Aaron was arrested, and then released on bail, so I had to see that bastard’s face in town and at school?—”

“They let him go back to school?” I exclaim.

“He was supposed to stay one hundred meters away from me at all times, but yeah, he went back.” She offers a grim look. “Did I mention that his mother is the mayor of Ransom?”

---